Samsung is looking at making a smartphone running its Tizen operating system its main item for the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, with its flagship Galaxy S5 smartphone set to be unveiled in March, according to Korean press reports.
The MWC in Barcelona is arguably the world’s largest annual trade show for the telecommunications industry.
This year, the show runs from February 24 to 27 and is set to feature displays from 1700 exhibitors including telcos, communications equipment makers, mobile app developers and consumer electronics firms.
Citing a “high-ranking Samsung official”, ZDNet Korea reports the electronics giant is keen to unveil the Galaxy S5 at its own event in March, in a manner similar to the launch events for the Galaxy S3 and S4 in previous year.
The company is reportedly increasingly concerned about low-cost Chinese smartphone vendors copying their designs if they are on display in an open exhibition space.
Instead, Samsung is set to demonstrate a smartphone running its own Tizen operating system, rather than Google Android, at the MWC.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
